by Rev. Antony W. Ball
My family very rarely went to Church. We were brought up to respect the Church in some kind of vague, all-embracing way, but we were not a Church-going family. In particular, the great festivals of Christianity ‘left me cold’, as it were. I knew Christmas was about Jesus being born – and I was very glad we gave presents to each other not just to Him. I knew Good Friday and Easter were about Jesus dying on a cross and somehow coming alive again – which seemed a bit far-fetched – but when it came to Whitsun (or, as we should now say, Pentecost) I really didn’t have a clue. And if someone had said something about ‘the coming of the Holy Spirit’ then… well, let’s just say I’m glad they didn’t!
Nowadays, of course, things are starting to make a bit more sense – although, to be honest, I’m still not sure who all the characters pictured are supposed to be, or why they look so solemn. What we cannot realistically deny, if we read the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, is how the mood of the apostles changed from cowering away in fright to preaching the good news of the resurrection.